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Excellent episode. Great comedy in the first half, and powerful drama in the second half.

Let's start with the first half. Kumin was extremely lovely in that dress. That's exactly the kind of dress I'd like to see nowadays' girls wear more often. Simple and beautiful. Rikka's black dress was also very nice. Isshiki is starting to fall for her (and her mole), which is completely understandable. Being the bro he is, I'd say he deserves a girl like her.

Shinka and Dekomori's antics were amusing as always. These two are at their best when they interact with each other. The more I see them together, the more I realize how similar they are (Shinka would kill me for saying that). They even had the same idea to troll each other: writing an insult on the other's back, ruining their tan. It made me laugh so hard to see Shinka so proud of what she accomplished, not realizing Dekomori did the same to her

Rikka was understandably gloomy throughout the episode, though Yuuta or should I say Dark Flame Master occasionally managed to cheer her up. I didn't think the origin of her chuunibyou was that profound. Her father passed away and she's been in denial about his death ever since... not to mention, her mother presumably abandoned her. I feel really bad for her now, I won't be able to see her as just this eccentric and funny girl anymore knowing what lies underneath her delusions. Hopefully, Yuuta will be able to help her.

The final scene of the episode was very moving. So this is the true meaning of these words... this hit me like a ton of brick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

In this episode, KyoAni proves to J.C. Staff that they don't even have to adapt a Key work to out-Key them.

So true

Komari and Rikka's issues are surprisingly similar (denial of a close family member's death) so it's easy to compare the two. Kyoani has JC beaten by a mile when it comes to execution (and pretty much everything else, really).

I was already expecting for KyoAni on not just presenting a simple beach/fan-service episode. I get the feeling that they've been aiming to surprise us from our expectations of the show.

We can see here Yuuta's past symptoms really helps him in relating and helping a person like Rikka without going about pounding into her head on what she's supposed to act and think. It really make his character more sympathetic and Rikka more well rounded.

Rikka is obviously been heavily affected with her fathers passing. Even though it seems that she indeed recognize of him being dead, however she still clings to old memories and being with him again. Whether one believes in an after-life or not, it just won't do to forever living one's life in pursuit of the past. I believe with Yuuta beside her, time will heal all pains and make her a stronger and wiser person when she finally decided to move on forward. I'm sure it's what her father would have wanted.

I like how in the end that Rikka didn't go break down crying when faced again the harsh reality, but ready to go defiantly fighting.

So, it looks like I was right about at least one of her parents dying. Combine that with the parental abandonment by her mother and that can definitely leave a kid screwed up. The Ethereal Horizon was close to what I thought as well-- the "afterlife" where he dad is.

This episode was amazing and hit all levels of entertainment from a deep emotional understanding through Rikka’s pain when she experienced her father’s death to the love budding and finally showing fruit between Yuuta and Rikka to the hilarious moments between Nibutani and Sanae. Rikka turning the family dog into Cerberus was also a moment of comedic genius. She may be in a daze-like state through most of this episode, and yet it still feels good to see her Chuunibyou side creeping out. I loved the moment when Rikka dropped her Chuunibyou personality and talked about her immediate family as they are supposed to be called and then when Yuuta provided the strength she needed she reverted back to calling her sister as Priestess. Very slowly, the Chuunibyou side of her and reality are merging into one. In really tough situations, Rikka can’t put the energy into keeping up her own reality.

How is it that Nibutani is the only who in their club that can notice the romantic interest between Yuuta and Rikka? I’ll forgive Sanae because she is still young, but Kumin… honestly? She’s older than the rest and isn’t a Chuunibyou victim. She has a firm grip on reality and has probably seen more than her fair share of relationships start with classmates around her. Maybe she’s just an airhead (yes, I do know that she is an airhead) of a much higher level than I intended.

Sanae’s and Nibutani’s relationship is one of closely-related creatures that have to do battle simply because the other is there and it is an insult that the other lives. Okay, maybe it’s not as intense as the probable hatred between Neanderthals and Humans had for one another, it’s definitely nowhere near as dangerous, but their Cold War state is highly amusing. Their constant struggle to one-up the other is one of this show's highlight moments. It’s very good to know that their Cold War is put on hold momentarily when one of them is really suffering, such as when Sanae was vomiting back on the train. Yes, they still bicker but at least the physical side of their struggle is put on hold. The best moments where when Sanae was incoherently responding to what was said around her when her eyes were making the spiny spirals.

Rikka’s grandpa had to be hell living with for one like Rikka. She is constantly opposed to his way of life that everything and everyone must act according to society’s rules. This is a very common idea, I hear, in Japan. The mental pressure that he put on her while living with him and listening to his mutterings day in and day out had to be close to abuse. I don’t know if Rikka’s grandma accepts Rikka’s Chuunibyou, but we do know that she at least plays along with Rikka. Rikka seems to like her grandma as it would seem she is the only one who can control her husband and stop him from muttering about Rikka’s Chuunibyou.

Also, I noticed that Yuuta looked very similar to Houtarou in this episode, especially when his face drew a blank. If I didn’t know better, I would believe that Houtarou had a twin or a younger brother. I say younger because of the way that Yuuta looks and acts in comparison to Houtarou. Lastly, need I say it? Rikka killed me this episode with her cuteness. The final scene of the episode broke my heart for a different reason.

A very good episode. I really liked the little details that give a good grasp of the character relationship and how it changed over time.

Comparing Yuuta in episode 1 and episode 7 is plain as day and night: the former would be at loss with Rikka's cryptic behaviour, whereas the latter doesn't mind using Dark Flame Master mode more often than before to get close to Rikka. Heck, even the train ride had those tidbits, with Yuuta trying to get what's going on, and sort of don't abuse "skinship" (the focus on their hands is a prime example of that).

Meanwhile, Shinka and Sanae's rivalry changed a little bit: I was already surprised to see them sitting next to each other in the train to begin with, but even when she feels like it is a PITA, Shinka still takes care of Sanae, even if there is of course a certain sense of obligation in there.
This goes on a much lighter tone (in character perspective that is), so instead of being more aggressive, it becomes a bit tamer (but as hilarious as before, mind you). At least, it really looks like a triangle is completely out of question, which is a good surprise considering romcom nowadays use this setup a bit too often.

But of course, the central part was how Rikka's backstory was narrated: I really liked how they kept the setup consistent without going too much on the infodump, nor on the cryptic style. The result gives a very good transition between the chuuni antics and her actual reason for acting this way.
I sure would like to know why her mother outright abandonned them, which can lead to ugly speculation (you would usually think children would be the "memento" of the dead for the remaining parent, so tossing them aside lead to serious question...), but I guess that's really unecessary since the damage has been dealt already.
We might see more of "normal Rikka", which I find quite interesting.

I'm quite curious how the director(s) will lead the remaining episodes: they managed to make an excellent and consistent shift from comedy to drama, so reversing the flow will require a very good conclusion and a natural "reset button", with hopefully a development for Yuuta and Rikka's relationship.

Side note: I guess I wasn't the only one, but Kumin's attire reminded me Nagisa's, and I think they did it on purpose

At this point I'd think that it isn't so much Delusional as it is Denial. Of course who are we to say that Rikka's observance of the Ethereal Horizon is but a fantasy, but the lack of strength in her "delusion" leads me to think that it's a denial more than anything. Maybe denial coupled with a degree of visual hallucination, but for me it stands out more to Rikka's refusal to accept that her father is dead, and somehow tries to find ways to rationalize her belief in proving that he's still alive.

Seeing that the land where their house used to stand being nothing more than an empty lot now is shocking not just for her but for anyway who has to undergo the same experience. Her stubborn refusal ad to continue fighting on might be admirable, but also cognitively dangerous: there might come a point where the line between fantasy and reality no longer exists. It's clear she can delineate, the mere fact that she nearly slipped and called Priestess her "sister" is proof of that, but the stress can only wear her down even more.

And without help, well, her state will eventually become a true clinical delusion to say the least. A very sad and dperessing outcome for someone who's trying her damn best not to let the torrent of swelling emotions overtake her. But still, everyone has a tipping point, and without Yuuta she'll eventually reach hers...

The very essence of her chuunibyou is definitely denial: the "incantation sentences" outright spell out that.
That would lead to a much deeper denial, leading to a dissociated perspective of the reality and her own, instead of these 2 being overlapped as of now. Delusional would mean she would have no way to distinguish reality and her world, while her state and anything past that would keep the reality existent, but past a certain case, she will just "never" bother with it at all.

Oh god, I've just realized how dark this anime could have turned out. Thank goodness this is KyoAni.

Yeah, if it was any other creator with the story they have going right now, I wouldn't be shocked if they brought around a bad end . But this is KyoAni so we can expect a good end for the most part .

This episode was really good, gave us a lot of back story on Rikka and pretty much explains why she is the way that she is. I think we still don't have the full story though and probably won't until we get a little closer to the end, maybe 2 episodes. Either way I like the story they gave her so far.

I get that she is in denial, I just hope that she doesn't get caught so far in her own denial that it becomes a delusion, because if that is the case I am pretty sure that there is no one who will be able to help her but herself, and she obviously has no intentions to change her thought patterns at this time.

Maybe it was just me, but I felt like the comedy in this episode wasn't all that good actually. It felt really cliche and the only thing that made me really laugh was Deko and Summer writing their names on each other's backs. I know they were going for a more serious tone in this episode, but they still had a decent amount of comedy elements which I felt they put almost no effort into. After episode 6 where all the comedy was awesome in my opinion, the comedy here was lacking.

This is Sakamoto. I was charged with directing/storyboarding episode 7.

It's summer!
It's swimsuit season!
Yuuta's a guy!
Rikka shows a different expression!
You have to see it!

Despite that various things in this episode led it to feel different than the ones before it, we still managed to squeeze some gags in. Keeping a balance between the seriousness and the comedy was difficult, but I think it turned out enjoyable. Personally, I felt the little quarrel with Dekomori and Touka was a key point. (laughs)

With this episode, we come into touch a little bit with the main story. As we near the end of the series, how will Yuuta and Rikka come together with "chuunibyou" between them... I hope they remain close until the very end.

Animation Director Hiroyuki Takahashi:

Quote:

This is episode 7's aniD Takahashi.

When you think of high school students, you think of summer. When you think of summer, you think of high school students. And when you think about high school students in summer, you think of the beach. Since they're students, Shinka, Deko, Rikka, Kumin, and Yuuta appeared in swimsuits. And to no big roar of applause, Isshiki also appeared in a swimsuit. They're all high school students, you see.

By the way, since Touka isn't a high schooler, she didn't don a swimsuit. ....Damn it! Deko's not a high school either.... Anyways, we worked hard drawing these young people in summer.

There were a lot of troubles and vomiting for these summer teens! ...Wait, vomiting?!

Background artist Jouji Unoguchi:

Quote:

I'm Unoguchi and I was in charge of background scenery.

Yeah! It's finally here!!!!!!! Is this the real swimsuit episode?! Or so you thought until you saw those last moments in episode 7.

Episode 7's stage isn't in the school we're accustomed to; it's a brand new place. As we added more scenery this time, it felt like your view of this world was broadened. Being able to live in a house like that would bring back so many memories as you passed the time. Were you able to appreciate the new sensations that kept popping up until the very end? I'd be very pleased if you felt like you wanted to go into the ocean next summer while watching the episode.

Anyways, with features like a satisfying summer skyline and satisfying swimsuits, this was an episode that kept you grinning the whole time like you usually do. As for me, I've memorized Rikka's appearance while she was tinkering with the radio for some reason.